


Taking the Opportunity

by glindalovesshoes



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: F/M, Smut, Window of Opportunity Tag, after the loop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:55:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24701917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glindalovesshoes/pseuds/glindalovesshoes
Summary: "I always thought that when it happens we would… It’s just unfair how you get a hundred days without consequences and I won’t even get a minute.” - It's all about the consequences. When Jack confronts Sam about kissing her during the time loop, she doesn't react the way he hoped she would.
Relationships: Samantha "Sam" Carter/Jack O'Neill
Comments: 3
Kudos: 104





	Taking the Opportunity

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Weekend everyone!
> 
> I guess everyone who writes Sam & Jack stumbles upon their own version of "Window of Opportunity" one way or another. So without further ado, here is my take on what happened during our fabulous time-loop episode.
> 
> Big thanks goes to my beta Alex ♥
> 
> Please let me know what you think.

He’s kissed her once and now he doesn’t know how to stop. While his head keeps yelling at him that this is definitely not a good idea, he’s become more and more creative with every loop, always a few minutes before time resets itself. Teal’c and he have been in here for weeks, months, have played golf through the Stargate, ridden bikes in the hall, and played every prank imaginable on Walter, Siler, and a few others. Now they’ve done the whole Ancient translating yadda-yadda to the brim of exhaustion and are finally, finally done. There’s about half an hour left to this loop as Jack finds himself wandering down the hallway to her lab. 

He has not exactly thought about what he’s going to say to her this time, but he’ll stall for a good twenty-six minutes before he kisses her while the loop resets. To his own benefit, Carter has not once pushed him away or questioned his motives. No, quite contrary actually. She seems to have rather enjoyed the whole kissing thing as much as he has, he thinks. Still, it’s unfair to her because she doesn’t remember. Jack does though. Every single time. Which is why it’s getting harder and harder to stop. 

The door to Carter’s lab is open, so all he needs to do is clear his throat as he hovers in the doorway in order to alert her to his presence. She looks up, her gaze first confused as if she was in another place miles away, before cracking a smile at him. 

“Sir.” 

“Carter.” 

“Are you done with translating the text already?” She puts the thing she’s working on aside and gets up. It’s something she does, when he enters the room, the whole getting up thing in order to show her respect. Jack has told her a thousand times she doesn’t need to do this but telling her again, especially during the loop is not going to stick. 

“Yeah. We’re done.”

“That was fast,” Sam says, mildly surprised. 

“Well, we’ve been at it a while.” 

“Define ‘a while’, sir.” There’s a small grin on her face and he just wants to kiss her right here and now. A quick look at his watch tells him though; he’s got twenty-one minutes to go. 

“A few weeks… months…” Actually, he’s stopped counting. Teal’c will probably know. The Jaffa is good with counting and remembering and that kind of stuff. He’s surely keeping track of how many times SG-1 has saved Earth in case anyone ever asked. 

“Months, sir?”

“Well, we took a few breaks here and there. Did some… _stuff_.” 

“Do I want to know?” 

“Do you?” Jack asks back. He wouldn’t mind telling her about all the shenanigans, however he wouldn’t want her to judge, berate him even. 

Sam’s simple shrug with a small smile is all the answer he needs. Seventeen minutes to go. 

“I’m not sure. On the one hand, I’d like to know, but on the other hand I wouldn’t even remember. When is the next reset, you say?”

“Sixteen minutes.” 

She hums, her eyes fixed to his. Her mouth opens as if she wants to say something, then closes once again. It’s not something he’s used to, to her hesitating to talk to him, but he’s got the feeling what she wants to say is important. 

“Sam.” 

The mentioning of her given name throws her completely off guard as it has become a rarity between them. He’s the ‘Colonel’ or ‘sir’, she’s simply ‘Carter’. It has to be that way in order to reduce the base talk to a bare minimum which will not hurt her career. 

“Sir, during the loops, did it ever occur to you to break… certain rules?” Her question is hesitant, openly worded in order to give him a way out. 

“Well, we did play golf through the Stargate a couple of times. But I think that’s not the rule you’re talking about, is it?” 

Sam’s eyes wander to her hands, giving him the answer he was expecting. Eleven minutes. Hell, what does he have to lose?

“Yes, I did break the frat rules. Not once, not twice, a couple of times. But if it helps, Hammond has my resignation on his desk right this minute. I always resigned beforehand.”

“Is this why you came down here now?” She wonders, things suddenly falling into place for her. 

Jack simply nods, waiting for her reaction, anything to give him a clue, but she just slumps back into her chair. 

“I only ever _kissed_ you, Carter. If that helps.” It clearly doesn’t. She’s upset and on the verge of angry. Jack realizes being honest was clearly the wrong way to go, so he backs away toward the door, hands raised in apology. “I’m sorry, Carter. I should never have violated you like this. I’m sorry.”

Sam jumps off her chair and dashes to the door, hindering him from leaving. Jack’s surprised and stumbles backward as she slams the door shut. He’s never seen her like this, never thought kissing her would hurt her so much. 

“Carter, listen…”

“No. You _listen_ , Jack. You tell me you’ve kissed me. More than once, it seems. And I assume correctly you did so _every_ time just before the loop resets, right?”

Jack nods, he doesn’t dare say anything else. 

“And you didn’t even think for one second I would like to _process_ what you did? That I would like to think about that kiss, about what it means for us? Cherish it? _Remember_ it? You didn’t even give me the chance to enjoy it. Instead, you took the memories away from me the very second it happened.” 

He stares at her, his mind trying to process what she just said. Carter is right, he didn’t give her time to remember, time to act because he was scared of the consequences which may result from what he did. All she does, it seems, is to remember. To enjoy the moment just like he does and what he did was incredibly selfish. 

“You’re not mad about the kissing.”

“No, I’m not mad about the kissing. I’m mad I don’t get to remember _anything_. I won’t even remember this argument in a few minutes.”

“Sam…”

“No! I always thought that when it happens… When we finally… That when the war is over, we would… It’s just unfair how you get a hundred days without consequences and I won’t even get a minute.”

The last thing he sees before the loop resets is how her shoulders slump down and her hands cover her face. Now, this is not how he’d imagined this last loop to end. 

Xxxxx

SG-1 gets the weekend off. Well, Hammond has argued Jack and Teal’c should have the weekend off after their ordeal in the time loop. For everyone else, nothing really…. changed. They remember ‘yesterday’ as yesterday and not as over three months away. Nonetheless, Jack is happy he _finally_ gets to sleep. Despite feeling well rested every time the loop resets, there is something about his bed, a good night's sleep and waking up to the annoying meow of his neighbor’s cat, who likes to climb into the tree just in order to make someone get her down with a ladder. 

Yes, sleep is good, but having a team night with _Deus Ex Machina_ \- they can’t always watch _Star Wars_ , can they? - beer and some fresh steaks from _Kroger_ , is even better. He’s agreed to it because Daniel has ‘questions’, as the archaeologist put it and he, well he, has made the decision to talk to Carter on the off chance they should have a moment alone. Since Jack is almost ninety-nine percent sure they won’t have said chance, he’s probably going to be safe. 

At 1800, he gets the barbecue going and opens the first beer. Daniel and Teal’c are the first to arrive with a six pack of Guinness and a dozen donuts for dessert. Sometimes Jack really likes the way his teammates think, even though Daniel could have brought two six packs - to be stocked for next time that is. 

Carter arrives soon after and after seeing her in BDU’s for weeks on end, Jack does a double take when she shows up with a flowy knee length floral skirt and a white tank top under her leather jacket. _Nice_. 

She smiles at him, all cheer. There’s not one hint of the sadness or disappointment he’s seen two days ago during their pre-last loop where she confronted him about the kissing. No, Carter’s smile is unwavering and that’s the problem. Now he knows exactly how her lips taste, how they feel when they’re pressed against his own. Jack knows her skin is warm and soft and what exactly he would need to do in order to get her to make this very cute, very squeaky noise when he kisses her. 

“Sir? You alright?” 

_Damn, O’Neill, get your fucking act together!_ Jack scolds himself before he smiles at his second in command and hands her a bottle of beer. Sam eyes him suspiciously but lets it go. Instead, she clicks her bottle with his before she takes the first sip. 

“I believe the steaks are burning, O’Neill.” Teal’c explains calmly when he steps inside. 

“Ack! Why didn’t you...” The Colonel is off and running just when Daniel calls something about not wanting to eat charcoal _again_. 

“He said to not touch the barbecue. I merely complied with his wishes,” Teal’c explains to Sam. She catches the underlying Jaffa humor and cannot stop a giggle escaping her. The Jaffa bows his head toward Sam and patiently waits for her to lead the way out onto the patio where Jack is currently dousing the steaks with his beer. 

“Bless you, for bringing a salad, Sam,” Daniel mutters as everyone settles around the table, shaking his head as he watches Jack throw the well-done steaks onto a plate. 

“It could be worse. It could have been Carter trying to make an MRE casserole for us.”

“That was _one time_ , Sir,” Sam rolls her eyes but is already used to the Colonel not letting it go. Well, if it makes him happy to tease her, who is she to tell her commanding officer to stick it? 

They laugh at the memory and start eating, continuing the casual chatter. Daniel can’t stop asking questions about the time loop and has problems coming to terms with the fact Jack now has sufficient knowledge about the Ancient language. He suggests Jack help him with some translations from P3X-998 he still has to do but Jack vehemently declines, telling him he always gets a headache when there’s too much Ancient in his head. 

Sam gets the joke and smiles. Bingo! 

“So, did you guys ever do something crazy while you were stuck in the loop?” Daniel finally asks after they’ve finished their steaks and gone over to eating the donuts. 

“What happens in the loop, stays in the loop,” Jack answers after a short glance at Teal’c. 

“Oh, come _on_ , Jack,” Daniel whines. “You must have done _something!_ ”

“Indeed, DanielJackson,” Teal’c answers, a hint of a smile on his stoic face. 

“You can tell us. It’s not like what you did has any consequences now. Right, Sam?” 

Sam simply nods but Jack can see she would never pressure them into telling her. Daniel’s words get to him though. _It’s not like what you did has any consequences now_. Oh, if he only knew. There are a lot of consequences Jack would have preferred to avoid. He meets Sam's eyes for just a second but it’s enough to make her eyes go wide. Shit. Does she suspect anything? 

“We hid Walter’s uniform while he was in the shower. He had to walk through the halls with only a towel.”

“You’re so childish, Jack,” Daniel says rolling his eyes. 

“Hey, you’re the one who asked, Dannyboy. I also blew up Carter’s lab one time.” 

Sam’s eyes grow wide. “How did that happen, Sir?”

“I touched something I wasn’t supposed to. But it’s all good now, nobody died. Teal’c’s goatee got singed though.”

“You will not touch something again, when MajorCarter tells you not to, O’Neill,” Teal’c adds in a tone that left no room for discussion. Sam and Daniel laugh at the Colonel’s face and when Jack asks them what _they_ would have done, Daniel won’t stop talking. 

They’ve moved their get together inside a while ago, since it grew cold, a little bit too cold to sit outside. It took Teal’c to pointedly say “Silence, Daniel Jackson!” for Daniel to stop talking so they could all enjoy the movie. _Deus Ex Machina_ would never become Teal’c’s new favorite, but he enjoyed the movie, nonetheless. 

It is late when Daniel and Teal’c leave. Jack shuts the door behind them and joins Sam in the kitchen where she is cleaning the dishes from dinner. She always does this, cleans up after them even though she doesn’t have to. He’s told her multiple times, but Sam insists she doesn’t mind, and when he makes dinner, the least she can do is do the dishes. 

“Thanks for letting us come over, Sir.” Sam smiles as she is putting the last of the plates next to the sink where the rest of the dishes are already drying off. 

“You know you’re always welcome here, Carter. Had a good time?”

“Always do, Sir.” She dries her hands on a towel and accepts the bottle of beer he hands her. She shouldn’t drink any more since she still has to drive home but she takes a sip anyway. 

“So. Crazy few days, huh?” 

“They must have been a lot crazier for you. I don’t remember being stuck in a time loop. It must have been frustrating. Living every day over and over, explaining to us time and time again what was happening.”

“Sometimes I wished it would have been you and Daniel instead of me and Teal’c. You two would have got us out of there in no time.” Jack smiles at the thought. Although he didn’t mind being stuck with Teal’c, he sometimes really wished it would have been Daniel or Carter. Daniel would have translated the Ancient text much quicker, and Carter would have figured out something to stop Mali… Milka…Marty? - whatever the dude’s name was. 

“Is there anything you would have done? Knowing there would be no consequences?” 

Her eyes grow wide as she blushes furiously. Her mouth opens but she closes it once again, thinking. “I… uh - I don’t know. Maybe?” 

“Like what?”

“Maybe I would have called McKay and told him to go suck on a lemon?” 

“Carter, I’m shocked.” Jack chuckles. He leans against the counter right next to her and puts the beer aside. “I did something.”

“Yeah, you blew up my lab.”

He shakes his head and takes a deep breath. He owes her this much, right? To tell her the truth? 

“No, I did something else, Sam.” It feels like all air is sucked out of the room. When he looks at her, blue eyes are staring back at him with curiosity and an inkling of what is to come. She doesn’t say anything, gives him the chance to talk first before she cuts in, but there’s the nagging feeling in the back of his head that if he doesn’t find the right words this whole conversation will go south pretty fast. 

“We’ve had this conversation before. Kinda. In the loop.”

“I take it, it didn’t go as planned?” 

“Nope.” 

“Try me again,” Sam says, putting her beer next to his. 

_For Christ’s sake, O’Neill, get a grip!_

“I kissed you. During the loop. But when I told you, you got really, really mad. Not about the fact that I kissed you, but about the fact you wouldn’t remember it happened. Said something along the lines of ‘It’s unfair how I get a hundred days without consequences and you won’t even get a minute to remember’.”

“That does sound like something I would say,” Sam whispers quietly. She seems confused. “Did we ever… go further?”

“No! God, no, Carter. Sam.” Jack is shocked she would even consider him throwing _all_ the regs overboard. “If… no. No. _When_ we finally go there, I want both of us to remember.” 

He does, he really does. Kissing her is one thing, but the thing between them is so much more than just kissing. Jack’s in love with her. It has taken him too long to realize, but she is more than just a second in command, more than just a colleague. He couldn’t leave her behind on the ship, offered himself up a guinea pig for Anise just so she could live. He cares about her _a lot more than he’s supposed to_ and she knows. 

“But then… why tell me now? Why not just… let it go?” 

“Because your time-loop-you was right. It _is_ unfair. And while I get to remember a _lot_ of really hot, really good kisses… I want to offer to level the playing field. If you want, that is.” 

There. It’s out. He’s said it. Now what she makes of it is her own. 

“Take it out of the room?” 

“Your decision.” Always was and always would be. 

She swallows. Hard. It’s now or never.

“A night without consequences?”

“I’d give you a hundred if I could.” 

If you asked him later, he couldn’t tell you who made the first move. All he remembers is their bodies clashing together with her pressed against the counter and their lips locking. She tastes like sweet sugar icing with a hint of beer and _fuck_ he never wants to taste anything else ever again. Sam’s hands hold onto his shirt, fisting it in her hands as if she wants to make sure he’s not going to leave. She doesn’t have to worry though, the last thing on his mind is stopping. 

Jack lifts her up onto the counter and pushes her skirt up before he steps right between her legs which she locks around his hips, pulling him even closer if that’s even possible. She lets out a moan when he does the _thing_ with his tongue he’s found out she likes so much. Kissing Sam is like coming home. His hands are wandering now, gracing over her waist down to her hips. One finger slips under her tank top, meeting smooth and warm skin. Fuck. 

Sam moans against him, her hands finally letting go of his shirt. Instead, she does what he’s just intended to do with her and pulls his shirt over his head. They stare at each other for a mere moment. Her lips are swollen and red, eyes sparkling. Her hand is resting against his chest, just over his heart. 

“Bed?” he breathes. 

Sam nods and, to his surprise, leads the way. He’s dreamed about this, her leading him to his bedroom, hell, her _in_ his bed. And now here they are, stumbling frantically into his dark bedroom, trying to lose as much clothing as possible on the way up. They have one night without consequences and they’re going to make the best of it. They are hot, needy, and willing - _slow_ can come later. 

Somehow - the way upstairs is long, and he just _had_ to push her up against the wall two times to kiss her - they make it to his bedroom, leaving a trail of clothes like breadcrumbs behind them. Weirdly, the last thing to go is her bra and - _Jesus!_ He’s has a few peeks over the years but her naked and absolutely gorgeous on the mattress underneath him is something to file away for eternity. 

Jack’s hand cups her breast, squeezing it carefully with her firm bud pressing against the palm of his hand. Perfect and round and he just wants to… His hand is replaced by his mouth, nibbling, sucking, flicking. He barely registers her hand going down to her middle and holds her wrist just in time before she reaches herself. 

“Not so fast!” An unsatisfied moan escapes her, and he can’t help but chuckle. 

“No giggling, huh?” Sam teases him and damn, he couldn’t love her more if he tried. 

“I gotta…” Jack’s hand reaches out for the nightstand, but she shakes her head. 

“I’ve got an IUD. I want to feel you.” 

Jack looks up and sees her smiling down at him. He abandons her breast to kiss her, kiss her like it’s going to be the last time. The sudden upward movement has his hard cock brushing against her. Sam moans into the kiss and lifts her hips, bumping into him. He knows she wants friction, _needs_ it because he hasn’t touched her yet, but he can just smell how ready she is. 

“Jack!” she breathes, pulling away from his lips. Right. What the hell is he waiting for? 

He swipes through her folds, gasping at the wet heat which meets his middle finger. Sam arches toward him, squeezing her own breasts in the process. Jack sucks her juices off his finger and fuck, fuck, fuck, he needs her. _Now!_

She gasps when he takes his cock and guides himself inside her. Unexpectedly, Jack urges her thighs over his and pulls her up into a sitting position. This way he can hold her, look at her. They’re on one height, they’re equal in this. Sam’s head falls backward as she rocks against him. His cock is stretching her and fuck, fuck, fuck, it’s been too long. She’s so tight around him, but he’s hard and thick and long and hitting all the right spots. 

Her head falls back, mouth open, gasping with every stroke. Jack holds her as she leans backward to change the angle and suddenly she’s... babbling. Babbling little words like “Oh…” and “So good…” and “More!” and “Harder…” and “Jack!”. It’s turning him on even harder. He cannot control himself when she’s doing her techno babble, but this, now that he’s actually inside her… she’s babbling because of him. For him. Urging him on. And then suddenly, she tenses, her head lifts back up and she looks at him, laying her soul in front of him. He can feel she’s close, swings one arm around her back to hold her in place while his thumb rubs over her clit. 

That’s all she needs to come undone in front of him. Her walls are clenching around him as she’s rocking, rocking, picking up the pace with him. Goosebumps spread all over her arms and neck and it hits him that this was him, no _them._ They’re so good together and this, tonight, is everything he ever hoped for and dreamed of. Her walls have stopped pulsing, but Sam rocks on, kissing him hard with her arms urging around his neck. 

Jack’s trying to hold out, wants to make her come again, but he’s waited so long for this, too long for this and despite what everyone thinks, he’s just a man making love to the woman he cares about more than anything in the world. 

“Come,” Sam whispers and he does. 

Xxxxx

Later that night, sunrise only an hour away, Jack lies awake in his bed with her sleeping body curled against him. He’s holding her, one arm draped around her middle knowing full well that come morning, they will have to lock the door to the room they opened tonight. One night. No consequences. That was the plan. But opening the room was like opening Pandora’s box. 

Can he still resist now that he’s had a taste of ‘ _what if’_? The fate of the world is resting on their shoulders, and it seems terribly unfair they have to put everyone else before _them_. 

He sighs and presses a kiss on top of her head. 

“Stop thinking,” Sam all of a sudden mumbles sleepily. She turns around and presses her cheek against his chest. 

"I just wish…"

"Jack. I don't care about moments passed. All I care about is this one."

She’s right. Of course, she is, she’s a genius after all. So, Jack closes his eyes. Tonight isn’t about consequences. Tonight is about the chance to cherish and remember.

  
  



End file.
